The woman in the dunes by Kobo Abe

Book set in Kujukuri, Japan. Reread on 2020/07: https://www.instagram.com/p/CC543alg2X7/

Reviewed on 2019/04: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwpep7GHJsH/

What a strange, mysterious and whimsical cookie, this one is! This is my first attempt at reading #koboabe and I’m not sure why it has taken me this long. #thewomaninthedunes is a highly #existentialist , #allegorical and #mystical ride that seems drunk on its own complicated labyrinths and sophisticated prose. It reminded me of #sisyphus . Instead of eternally rolling up a rock, #jumpeiniki is “compelled” to clean the relentless #sand , trying to get rid of it. Needless to say, it’s a task set for failure since its inception. The meaningless tasks and the #claustrophobic town force us to see beyond the story itself, search for meaning anyway. What’s buried underneath it all? #abe does not give us a lot of clues. The more we read, the less clear it all becomes. Ultimately we are left to continue the story by ourselves, which I believe it’s indeed the resounding appeal of this book and the power of such a timeless story. We are, each of us, trapped in doing, saying, mimicking things which seem suffocating and beyond our power. How to escape? How to hope for something better when the sand just keeps coming in? #highlyrecommended#japaneseliterature #madeintoamovie#安部公房 #砂の女 #sunanoonna#yomiuriprize #vintage #tokyo#nightmare #nowayout